1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible hinge bracket for a laptop computer, and more particularly to a collapsible hinge bracket that is able to be folded to save space for storage or transportation.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional hinge bracket is provided between the screen and the panel of a laptop computer to allow the screen to pivot relative to the panel. Normally, after the hinge bracket is mounted on the laptop computer, the hinge bracket is able to provide necessary friction to the screen so as to support the screen at a predetermined position or to provide reasonable space for the screen to pivot with respect to the panel so that the screen is able to engage with the panel. However, prior to assembly of the hinge with the other components, storage of stock hinges is hindered by their size and this is inconvenient and expensive for manufacturers.) This is because, when the hinge bracket is not assembled on the laptop computer, the conventional hinge bracket, within a limited space to pivot, takes large space when storage or transportation becomes necessary, which is a great concern for the manufacturer when the issue turns to cost.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved hinge bracket for a laptop computer to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge bracket which is collapsible so that the bracket is able to be folded in parallel with the base of the hinge bracket such that the space taken by the hinge bracket when transported or stored is minimized. Therefore, the user is able to have more room available to store hinge brackets than before.
In order to accomplish the foregoing objective, the hinge bracket has a pad with two extensions oppositely formed on a surface of the pad and a positioning disk with a finger extending into a cutout defined in a leg of the bracket and two pairs of notches peripherally defined to correspond to the extensions respectively such that when the positioning disk pivots relative to the pad, the two extensions are alternately received in the two pairs of notches to either support the bracket in an upright position or in parallel relative to the base. Therefore, the hinge bracket is able to support an LCD screen at the upright position when the hinge bracket is in use and is in parallel with respect to the base when the hinge bracket is stored or transported.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.